Posts Tagged “2012 MLB Draft”

Tim Cooney
Wake Forest, Junior

@t_coons

Height: 6′ 3″
Weight: 195 lbs
DOB: 12/19/90
Bats: L
Throws: L

AZ’s Snap Take: College left hander who will need some work. Control has been an issue in college. There’s enough fastball here that the Cardinals can work with him and he’ll have a chance to move up the ranks. The blessings of pitching with your left hand.

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Steve Bean
Rockwood HS, Texas

@_SteveBean_

Height: 6′ 2″
Weight: 190 lbs
DOB: 09/15/1993 (Ed Note: Oh God, I’m so old.)
Bats: L
Throws: R

AZ’s Snap Take: Steve Bean, a high school catcher out of Texas, isn’t as much of a reach as you might expect. He made both Keith Law’s top 100 and Baseball America’s top 100. Catchers, like shortstops, have always struck me as tricky players for the draft. So much of their value is tied up in their position that each team’s individual take on their ability to stick their can massively skew how they perceive that player. Bean has enough of a bat to make you think he could develop further and good enough instincts behind the plate to hang in the battery position. It’ll be 2-3 years before we know whether this pick has a chance at the majors. The Cardinals drafting record on catchers has been spotty of late.

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Stephen Piscotty
Junior, Stanford

Height: 6′ 3″
Weight: 195 lbs
DOB: 01/14/1991
Bats: R
Throws: R

AZ’s Snap Take: This is very much a classic Cardinals’ pick. Piscotty has a consistent track record in college with Cape Cod League success. This isn’t necessarily a bad pick but it sure looks like there were better players still on the board. In combination with the Cardinals #23 pick, James Ramsey, the Cardinals have refrained from grabbing a true upside play after taking a solid upside RHP in Michael Wacha with the #19 pick. Most fans will almost certainly deride this as a “safe” pick and that phrase feels more apt this time around. Piscotty may translate his consistency well to the minors and beyond but few believe he has the makings of a star. Instead, he looks more like an average or slightly better third baseman in a perfect world projection. For a third baseman who lost his position to a freshman during the season with limited power potential, Piscotty’s upside will be his main critique until he proves doubters wrong.

The one caveat to much of this is that Stanford coaching is often hell on position players offensive production. There’s always a possibility that you can re-train the player to leave his slap hitting Stanford ways behind. (Ed. note: I wrote this before reading the ESPN analysis. There’s some echo chamber effect going on from Austin Wilson decision to go to Stanford last year.)

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Michael Wacha
Junior, Texas A&M

@MichaelWacha

Height: 6′ 6″
Weight: 195 lbs
DOB: 07/11/1991
Bats: R
Throws: R

AZ’s Snap Take: I generally like Wacha and with the 19th overall pick, he’s a good value. Some boards had him ranging into the top 10 talents and others had him more towards the end of the first round. At 19, this isn’t a reach and represents a reasonable appraisal of his abilities.

And his abilities are that of a mid-rotation pitcher. Expect the club to scrap (or at least refine) his breaking ball almost immediately as it’s universally derided as not working right now.  He’s got a changeup that, as it does with many prospects, lags his fastball.  His fastball will sit comfortably in the low 90s with varying reports on his ability to give it some extra zip.

This pick doesn’t wow me in the way that Stryker Trahan would. I want to call it a “safe” pick but that seems disingenuous since safe is often used as code for “bad”.  I like Michael Wacha as a prospect. I like Michael Wacha as the 19th overall pick even if he wasn’t necessarily MY first choice for the Cardinals. There’s very little here to complain about.  There wasn’t anyone left on the board that makes you look at this pick and obviously regret it today.

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The Cardinals will have a lot of picks in the 2012 draft this year. If they want to claim Stryker Trahan, a high school catcher out of Louisiana, they’ll probably have to grab him at No. 19 overall or No. 23 overall.  For me, Stryker remains the ideal draft selection for the June Draft in terms of skills and realistically being available during the Cardinals #1 pick.

Trahan is no small catcher standing at 6′ 1″ and a solid 220. Neither is he what you would describe as fat but rather, Trahan is simply built. His swing is about as perfect as one could ask for; there’s no handsy flailing, the trunk rotation is great and he starts from just a slightly open stance at the plate.  All the reports on his defense indicate that he can be a major league catcher. You aren’t drafting a bat with Trahan. You’re drafting a catcher that can hit.

Given that the Cardinals just signed Yadier Molina to a 5 year deal, there’s an element of serendipity to the drafting of Trahan who would have plenty of time to work his way through the minors.  Should the Cardinals pass on Trahan in the 2012 draft, it had better be for someone convincingly better. Trahan has the potential to be a real star, imo.

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Stryker Trahan is a name I’ve heard tossed around by some in connection to the Cardinals this coming draft. At the moment, he’s generally regarded as the best backstop available in the 2012 draft. He’s currently in high school with a commitment to Ole Miss but should someone wave first round money at him, there’s a sense that he’d take it.

He’s a good catcher with better athleticism than your typical plodding catcher. A solid line drive swing helps to augment his power projection and overall hitting ability. He’s as near to a complete package as a high school backstop can be.

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